Cynical World
by Endlessdreame
Summary: Hiyoshi finds himself stuck in a life of hunters and the hunted, but just who is who? Vampire AU, Hyoutei focus.
1. To Nowhere

Hiyoshi snarled into his drink. They were here again. That redheaded brat was even on a leash this time. It made him sick to think someone would stoop so low as to be a pet and actually enjoy it. They hadn't even been together that long. From what Hiyoshi had heard, Shishido Ryou was the loner type; the kind that would have a bite and leave the leftovers in a back alley. He never took- Hiyoshi shuddered- pets.

Hiyoshi Wakashi was no vampire hunter. No, those guys were as bad as the stupid vamps themselves; most thought they were better than the world, only the hunters seemed to think they had divine backup. Divinity his ass, if there was some holy power helping them, then why were there more hunters found dead than the vampires themselves?

The redhead was on the dance floor, lights making his hair a myriad of colors as he swung his hips. If Hiyoshi watched closely he could see the kid give a wink back at the Vampire whenever he rubbed a little too close to one of the other dancers, and with a flick of his eye he saw Shishido glare. Oh, so the vampire was possessive? It wasn't much longer before he stood, striding over to his collared pet and dragged him back over to the bar where he had been sitting.

Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow at the redhead's cheeky grin. Did the kid think he could actually get away with teasing a vampire? He'd seen someone try it before. Not on this vampire, but once in a while the club was invaded by others, and... well, to put it nicely the girl who'd tried it didn't live much longer.

But somehow, he had gotten away with it. Hiyoshi watched the long-haired vampire pull the redhead into a deep and hungry kiss, and then smacked his ass. The yelp the kid made could be heard from where he was sitting, and upon closer inspection he noticed the outfit he was wearing. Cat ears, and a tail to go with it. And this tail was obviously held in place in a way he didn't want to think more about, judging by the way he squirmed as the vampire pushed him onto a bar stool.

Hiyoshi tipped back the rest of his drink in a long chug and ordered another. Definitely didn't want to think about.

Later, he must have slammed his door harder than he meant to, as his roommate poked his head out of his room. "Bad day?" The man asked sympathetically, a small smile on his face under a head of untimely silver hair.

Hiyoshi sighed, leaning against the door and putting a hand to his face for a moment, and then lifted it to give his roommate a wry smile. "Guess so." He pushed away from the door, listening to the wood strain and walked to their tiny kitchen.

"We're out of green tea," came the voice behind him as he searched through the cupboards, "I meant to get some today but work called me in. I can get you some lemon tea with honey?"

Hiyoshi looked up as his roommate opened a cupboard beside him and pulled out a box of teabags. "You don't have to, I can get it myself." he stated, and to show his stubbornness he filled up the teapot with water and set it on the stove. Then he looked up again, "Work? But I thought they caught the one you've been chasing?"

His roommate frowned and gave up, sitting in one of the chairs at their little table. "I thought so, too. But it turns out he was smarter than they thought." He shifted uncomfortably, hand clutching at his cross necklace, "It's nothing but dead ends again. Literally."

Hiyoshi wouldn't admit it, but his roommate was one of the big reasons he hated vampires. Ohtori Choutarou was a vampire hunter. He'd lost at least two partners in his time to vampires; apparently they hunted in pairs. The kid was so nice and thoughtful, sometimes Hiyoshi wondered how he did his job at all. As he made up the tea, he shrugged. "You'll get him."

Ohtori looked up when Hiyoshi set a hot cup in front of him and nodded. "Hopefully. This one..." he trailed off, looking at the steam.

Hiyoshi wasn't one to pry. He didn't mind long moments of silence either, so he sat across the table and sipped at his hot tea, frowning slightly. Too much honey. Oh well, that was the way Ohtori liked it, and it was his own fault. He idly watched his roommate through his fringe of hair, a color just darker than the honey he'd put in their tea.

Ohtori looked up, meeting his stare for a moment before directing his gaze back down and slumped his shoulders. "Atobe's got it in for this one personally. I usually trust him, but I sometimes worry if he's... making mistakes because he's trying too hard." he confided.

Atobe. Hiyoshi'd heard the name a time or two in their conversations. Atobe Keigo was Ohtori's boss, the guy who directed everything, and the name people looked to when there was a vampire being a nuisance. Hiyoshi didn't approve at all of how he was running the vampire hunting business, and now, even less so.

A tune of music- Vivaldi or something, Ohtori had said- broke through their silence, and Ohtori pulled out his phone. Hiyoshi put down his tea to listen.

After a tense few moments in which Ohtori's face grew pale as he listened to someone on the other side of the line, he said, "I'll be there soon. No, I want to come." Ohtori's mouth curled into a frown, "Just tell me where he is, I want to be there, dammit!" his voice cracked and he listened only for a while and then nodded, switching off the phone.

Hiyoshi was staring at him with raised eyebrows. Ohtori never swore unless it was something big. But still, he wasn't going to ask, since he'd probably be told anyway.

He was right. "He's..." Ohtori gulped, standing from his chair and looking down at Hiyoshi, his eyes gone watery. "My partner's dead."

Hiyoshi didn't say anything, just stood, leaving their tea to sit and went to the closet. He grabbed his coat and tossed Ohtori's at him. With a jangle he pulled his keys from his pocket and stared stubbornly at his roommate, though from the mess his roommate seemed to be in it didn't seem like he'd protest Hiyoshi's company even if wanted to. "Where are we going?"

* * *

_Story and chapter titles are songs by Yuki Kajiura_


	2. Side: Fake Wings

Gakuto sat hunched over a drink and a plate of garlic curry. He knew vampires, at least Ryou, had no real problems with garlic but he figured it couldn't hurt. He was hoping it would mask his smell. The bar was out of the way, dingy, one of those places you had to stumble upon to find, which is exactly what Gakuto had done. He didn't even know where he was now, just that he had kept walking and hitching rides until he'd gotten tired and hungry and then with the small amount of money he'd had saved up from before, he'd stepped into the bar and ordered something to eat.

His rest was only short-lived, he knew. He'd tried running from Ryou many times, and each time it lead to him being stuck in the same room, the same bed, the same collar. Maybe this time he'd get lucky. He slipped from the stool at the bar and tried to be as inconspicuous as he could in leaving the bar. He wasn't sure exactly about the mechanics of vampire searching abilities, but he knew part was smell and part had to do with the way Ryou invaded his mind. If he could get far enough away before Ryou even realized he was gone, then maybe he'd have a chance.

It was hopelessly dark as Gakuto made his way down yet another side street. For all he knew he could be going in circles, and he hadn't passed a train station to mark where he was in hours. He cursed his stamina, which hadn't been much to go on about before, but had certainly taken a blow after he'd been picked up, claimed, and turned into a snack machine. His body spent nutrients and energy on regeneration of blood, which had been drained anywhere from weekly to daily, because he had no choice. Because he was just a pet.

He knew it was stupid to go outside alone at night. Hell, that's how he'd gotten in the whole mess in the first place. But Gakuto didn't care; there wasn't much anyone would want to do to him as he had no money and no ties anymore to be motive to hurting or kidnapping him. Except to Ryou, that was a pretty big tie, but there were still people out there who denied the existence of vampires, and even fewer who would go against one. He did have a nice body, though. He knew that because he flaunted it often and got the right amount of attention for it, too. But even rape wouldn't be too bad. Once he could convince them he'd be nice and good they usually let him take precautions so it wouldn't hurt so much.

Gakuto felt his luck slipping with the sound of footsteps behind him. He looked cautiously at his surroundings in hopes that it was a residential area and just someone walking to their home. Instead he was met with flickering lights from a few signs that were on, and hardly a sound from empty storefronts. He turned the next corner, hoping that he wasn't being followed, but he held back a curse as the sound of soft footsteps followed in his wake. His heart sped up along with his own footfalls. At least it sounded like it was only one person. The way the sounds hit his ears was something vaguely familiar, though. An even stride, like that of someone with decades of experience in walking. Had Ryou found him?

He didn't look back, and the urge to start running was strong, so strong that he even started to do so. But he was held back into a walk at a tug on his mind, something that told him to calm down. Amongst the thoughts of 'no, no, I don't want to go back!', his panic was soothed so that all he felt was a dull ache, ready to leap into anxiety at the moment he was let go. But the touch on his mind was foreign. Something was wrong.

At the sound of a low laugh, too smooth to be Ryou's, Gakuto whirled around to see a tall figure standing not five feet away. The low light of a neon sign illuminated the man, the vampire as there was no doubt now that that was what he was, in a blue glow, brightest at his eyes which were framed in round glasses. "Well, aren't you a pretty mouthful?"

Gakuto surprised himself as his first words were not 'who are you?' but rather, "I'm taken." He hated to use Ryou as an excuse, as that was exactly what he was running from, but to get away from one vampire only to land in the clutches of another was just too painful of an irony.

"Oh?" the vampire asked in amused surprise. He took two steps forward, but somehow Gakuto was rooted to the ground and he cursed the persuasive influence of vampires on the mind. "Hmm, now that you mention it, I can smell him on you."

The vampire was now close enough for Gakuto to see his smirk. His hand stretched forward in a fluid movement and Gakuto gained enough sense to jerk his head away from it. The vampire laughed.

"Feisty one, aren't you? Obviously you aren't broken in yet. Where is your master?" The vampire asked, his voice one smooth caress.

Gakuto stubbornly didn't answer, fighting away the calming effects of the vampire's mind on his. He needed to get away, get out of there. Get help. But his effort drained away as an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him against the tall vampire, and Gakuto suddenly learned that there were different types of mental pleasure.

The way Ryou manipulated his mind when he bit, or when they fucked, now felt like raw, blunt pleasure in comparison to what was flowing through him. It felt like he was being touched everywhere in soft, long strokes, but not enough to satisfy. He melted into the figure in front of him, his eyes drifting shut. A soft whimper came from his throat and he shivered when he felt a cold hand brush the hair away from his neck. Gakuto knew he should be protesting, knew under the caress of his mind what was going to happen, but this vampire knew what he was doing.

"Should we teach your master a lesson?" the vampire asked, his voice getting quieter but deeper, and Gakuto could feel the hunger in his words. "What happens when he loses track of his pet?"

Gakuto could hardly understand his words. He pressed himself up against the figure, trembling now, pleading for more or less, or anything but the continual flow of pleasure that had engulfed him that was just not enough. When he felt breath ghosting over his neck, he whimpered again and clutched at the vampires waist in his own hungry anticipation. He knew what came with a bite, that there was nothing like the pleasure a vampire could give him. It wasn't physical, it was mental, comparable to the best orgasm he'd ever had, the exciting swoop of jumping off a bridge with a bungee cord strapped to him, and lots of chocolate, and even then it was different. But Gakuto hadn't realized until now that there could be something even different from Ryou's bites, and cool lips on his skin dragged a whispered word from his throat. "Please."

The vampire's arm tightened around him while the other hand tipped his head to the side. "Call me Yuushi," he purred against Gakuto's neck.

Gakuto opened his mouth, ready to croak out the word obediently, when a snarl reached his ears. Suddenly there was another presence in his mind, loud and angry and violently shoving the pleasure away. The shove wasn't entirely mental either, and with a forceful jolt he found himself torn away from the vampire, from Yuushi.

He sunk to his knees, the shock of losing all that pleasure without warning leaving him gasping and holding himself up with his hands. Shouted words hit his ears in a familiar voice, but he was too dazed to make them out.

Finally, when Gakuto found the strength to look up, he found Ryou pinning Yuushi against a wall, curses flying loudly from his mouth and an expression on his face that had Gakuto cringing. He couldn't remember seeing Ryou this angry, not even from the time he'd made the mistake of letting someone else fuck him.

Yuushi's face, though, looked amused, and he finally interrupted the ranted string of curses and death threats with a mild, "I suggest you have a tighter hold on your pet, then."

Ryou growled, low and feral in his throat and drew his hand back to punch but then Gakuto must have blinked because Ryou had stumbled a few feet away and Yuushi was just a retreating figure down the street.

"Don't you ever lay your fucking hands on my fucking property again or I will kill you, you son of a bitch!" Ryou yelled, starting to run after him.

Gakuto had regained enough sense to get to his feet, and figured that if he was going to have any slim chance of getting away it would have to be now or never. He started running in the opposite direction, only to hear that snarl again and a fierce voice in his head. _Don't you fucking dare try to run from me again._

Without warning he was swept up, hanging down over Ryou's shoulder. He winced and struggled, but the grip on his hips tightened so much that he gave a cry of pain and stopped squirming. "Let me go, vampire," he spat. This time the punishment came in his mind, a swift spike of pain so intense that even though it hadn't even lasted a second, it left him trembling and gasping. He squeezed his watering eyes shut and let himself be carried, defeated, all the way back to their apartment.

Gakuto must have dozed off, because the next thing he heard was the sound of a door slamming. He opened his eyes to see a familiar ass, and around it the interior of their apartment. He didn't have time to orient himself before he was flung through the air. He curled his arms around his head to protect himself from impact, but although the toss had been strong his landing was soft as he bounced against the bed. With a groan of dizziness, compounded by the blood that had run to his head from being carried, he met the gaze of his master.

Ryou's eyes were dark and narrowed, his face turned into a scowl that had Gakuto holding his breath. His heart pounded wildly when Ryou approached, climbing over him on the bed. He squeezed his eyes shut in fear, not knowing what Ryou would do with him. He'd made some terrible promises the last time Gakuto had run away.

"Look at me," Ryou growled, his hand curling around Gakuto's neck. Gakuto fought to keep his breathing even as he complied but it had sped up along with his heartbeat. Ryou was angry. He wasn't just annoyed, or exasperated, but angry. "He almost fucking killed you. You are my pet. Mine to do with as I want. And you do not run away from me," he said in a low voice full of promises that he meant what he said. "If anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me."

Gakuto flinched and his eyes widened. Maybe he really had pushed too far. Ryou usually let him get away with a lot of things with minimal punishment. Sometimes he even somewhat enjoyed the punishment when it came to things like spanking or wearing and doing certain things in public. But this time Ryou seemed serious about making him regret it.

He wasn't sure whether to tense more as he felt the handcuffs clamp over his wrists and around the bedpost or relax because kinky was something he could handle. He didn't have a chance to tug on them to test their hold because Ryou did that for him. He was dragged down the bed until he couldn't move farther, the jolt of steel digging into his wrists making him whimper. He tried to crawl back up, away from those dark eyes that were now boring into his with a frighteningly cold intensity.

Ryou held down his squirming body with a hand on his hip, and another one wrenching his head sideways, the fingernails digging into the skin of his neck. Gakuto's hands curled, and he shut his eyes tightly, waiting anxiously for the bite, and wondering if this would be the one he'd never recover from.

But then came a soft snarl of disgust, and Gakuto wasn't sure if it was directed at him or not. Instead of a bite he was shoved sideways, rolling near the edge of the bed forcefully and making his wrists scream in pain. Gakuto looked over his shoulder in confusion in time to see the slamming of the door. Ryou's presence was even gone from his mind, and Gakuto knew he was alone.

He lay there for hours, the first one spent anxiously wondering what was going to happen to him now. But after that, the ache of being handled so forcefully, and more noticeably the handcuffs which were tight around his wrists started to catch up with him. He switched positions fitfully, trying to relieve the pull on his shoulders and be comfortable at the same time. His attempts at sleep were thwarted by uncomfortable positions and the nap he'd taken while being carried. Anxiety eventually turned to irritation at just being left alone handcuffed to a bed.

"Ryou!" he called out into the room fruitlessly, "Ryou, stop this, where are you?" But no answer came.

Finally as the light of the sunrise started shining behind the curtains, the door opened. Gakuto cursed himself at the relief that flooded through him, and so he scowled to make up for it. "About fucking time."

Ryou leveled a glare at him, and the reminder of the anger he'd felt from the vampire before was enough to keep Gakuto from saying anything else. "Why did you run away?"

Gakuto huffed in annoyance as if it wasn't obvious, and ignored the question with his own. "Why did _you_ run away?"

Ryou slunk onto the bed, baring his teeth in a predatory way, and trapped Gakuto's body against the sheets with his own. "Because I almost killed you," he growled.

Gakuto swallowed and tried to put a hand to his neck, only to remember he was still bound with a clink of the handcuff chain.

"Why did you leave me?" Ryou asked again, making it obvious that he wasn't going to move either of them until he got his answer.

"Because I hate being nothing more than a pet. What am I, just a food source and a sex slave?" Gakuto glared at him defiantly. If Ryou really wanted to kill him he would have done it before, so he felt secure enough to be able to talk how he wanted at the moment. And it wasn't going to involve sucking up to his master.

Ryou smirked and leaned down to lick his neck. "You never seemed to mind doing either of those, Kitten."

Gakuto shivered and tugged lightly on his restraints. "I'm not a toy, bastard. What happens when you get tired of me?" He was approaching the core of his worries. It was true he didn't mind so much living a life which required him to do nothing more than be bitten, have lots of sex, and stay around the apartment doing whatever the hell he wanted. None of it wasn't fun, except for the times Ryou got on a power trip and made him degrade himself by acting the part of the obedient slave, and even then he made it up to him with mind-blowing orgasms. But it couldn't last.

"You're immortal, remember?" Gakuto continued, "You're going to stay the same for forever, but I'm not. What happens when I get too old? You're just going to dump me somewhere and make me suddenly fend for myself in a world I don't even live in? Or maybe you'll just kill me because I've outlived my usefulness!" His voice rose and he was giving his master a full on glare.

Ryou looked surprised. "That's what this is about? Gakuto, we don't have to worry about that now."

"Yes we do!" Gakuto yelled, trying to wiggle out from under him, "I don't want to be completely useless or dead in just a few years!" His jaw clenched as he tried not to get hysterical. He was right, Ryou didn't seem to understand. He didn't understand that mortal lives weren't indefinite, that people aged. That Gakuto was getting closer to the time when he'd be aged.

Ryou sighed and levered himself up onto his hands, still looking down at him. "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Let me go." Gakuto said seriously, staring at the vampire hard. "Let me go now before it's too late." He felt some hope, a small bit of triumph as Ryou didn't refute his request automatically. On the contrary, the vampire's face morphed into a frown of thought.

It took Ryou a long time to speak again, and Gakuto had started getting impatient and squirming again. Finally, his head nodded almost imperceptibly in defeat. "Three years."

Gakuto's head tilted in confusion. Three years was still a long time, but at least they were getting somewhere. "Three years what?" he clarified.

Ryou's lips tightened, and it seemed to pain him as he ground out, "In three years you can do whatever you want. You're seventeen right?"

"Eighteen." Gakuto corrected with a scowl.

Ryou's face relaxed in amusement. "Eighteen," he agreed. "In three years I will let you go. Or..."

Gakuto latched on to his hesitance, sensing a better offer. Maybe less years. "Or what?" he pushed.

"Or I can turn you." Ryou finally surrendered.

Gakuto paused in his thoughts, wrapping his mind around what had just been said. "Like into a vampire? Seriously?" He wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Eternal youth definitely sounded nice, but surviving on the lives of others seemed too dependent. Unless he got himself a pet, but would he really want to subject someone else to what he was going through?

His master nodded. "You have three years to decide, don't hurt yourself," he teased, poking Gakuto's head lightly.

"Wait, you mean you won't do it now?"

"No," Ryou said firmly. He leaned down, so far that his lips brushed Gakuto's as he spoke. "You're missing the point. I want to keep you."

And then they were kissing. It was hard and hungry, and when Ryou's teeth scraped against his tongue they both tasted blood and it drove Ryou even further. The back of Gakuto's head was pressed hard against the pillow as his mouth was claimed with rough strokes of Ryou's tongue and careful biting of his lips. The kiss only ended when Gakuto was gasping for air around Ryou's mouth, and even then it took him a moment to recover from his daze.

"Mm," he murmured incoherently, "Fine, three years. Now will you undo these?" Gakuto clinked the chain of the handcuffs pointedly, and Ryou grinned at him.

"No. You've been a naughty kitten." The vampire's chuckle sent shivers down Gakuto's spine, and a matching shiver trailed down his chest in the wake of the hand that was now there.

Ryou leaned down to nibble at Gakuto's neck, and he gasped. His stomach twisted in anticipation and he strained against the handcuffs, but Ryou didn't bite. Instead he laughed and continued, "But I will undo these."

Somehow Ryou's hands were at the waistband of his jeans, and Gakuto groaned in appreciation as his deft fingers popped open the button and pulled down the zipper in fluid movements. He'd taken to not wearing underwear since more often than not Ryou took it off him anyway, and so those cool fingers were soon brushing over his cock. Gakuto turned his head to the side, giving a moan of appreciation into the pillow and raising his hips to help his master slide the jeans down off of them.

A hand was quickly closed around his awakening erection and Gakuto bit back a cry of pleasure as it was pulled roughly, just on the near side of pain. "Fuck," he choked out.

"Exactly." Ryou replied, and somehow he was naked already, leaning over Gakuto's skinny body.

"Whoa, hey," Gakuto said, panic seeping into his voice as Ryou levered his legs up and started to position himself. "You aren't going to fuck me just like that, are you?" He started to squirm in worry, trying to force back the fear that was lodging itself in his throat. He couldn't be taken without any sort of preparation! He knew how much that hurt, and that he wouldn't be able to walk or sit or do anything without it burning and his master was never gentle about sex anyway. He bit his lip and tried to relax but the twisting in his stomach that had little to do with arousal wasn't helping.

Ryou's eyes hardened and he stared at Gakuto pointedly. "You'd deserve it," he said harshly. He allowed Gakuto another moment of panic before his expression softened and he reached to the table beside the bed for the tube of lubricant sitting right on top of it.

Gakuto relaxed, letting out his breath in a puff of air. "Don't fuck with me like that," he grumbled, and the look Ryou shot him was enough for him not to push it.

He started to worry again when he felt something that was definitely wider than fingers nudging at his opening and looked at Ryou questioningly.

"Bad kitten." Ryou said. He gave him a toothy grin and then pushed into him.

Gakuto's eyes screwed shut and his mouth fell open in a grunt of pain as he was stretched open. He noted the cool, wet feeling of lube at least, which reduced the painful drag of skin on skin, but there was still a dull pain. He sucked in a breath as Ryou pulled back, feeling the slicked movement out of him, and focused on the unique, familiar sensation that actually felt good.

But then Ryou pushed in again, and any semblance of taking it slow was gone. He arched up against the vampire, giving a groan of pleasure as his cock was trapped between their bodies and stroked by Ryou's stomach as he continued to thrust into him. The pain of being fucked so raw was obvious, but even then he could find some enjoyment in it because of the constant sensation of movement through him.

Ryou kissed him again, and it wasn't as fierce as before, but it was still hungry and wanting. Gakuto's noises, a cross between pain and pleasure seemed to spur him on and the vampire grasped his slim hips, pulling them up so he could pound harder into him. Gakuto broke the kiss to cry out, shaking when Ryou's sharp thrusts struck against his prostate. That too, afforded him so much rough pleasure that it was nearing pain, and Gakuto was stuck in a realm full of sensation. Pain, pleasure, a bruising grip, a shockwave of bliss, a passionate kiss, pressure outside and in, and Gakuto wasn't quite sure where he ended and where Ryou began.

Then there were lips on his neck, teeth pushing at the skin, and everything exploded into a mess of sensation that Gakuto willing lost himself in. It was raw and blunt pleasure, and somewhere he knew he'd come, but the thrill wasn't stopping. There was a tease of sucking at the edge of his consciousness, and he could feel his throat tightening because maybe he was screaming, but it was so good and so powerful and so much... But it wasn't like that other vampire, who'd caressed his mind, who'd stroked his sense of pleasure with such skill, and promised so much with a bite that he almost got to taste.

When Ryou pulled away, licking Gakuto's neck wound closed, Gakuto lay there quietly, his eyes fluttering half-open. His heavy pants seemed to echo in his mind as it tried to form itself back together. He closed his eyes on the pretense of being tired and dizzy from blood loss and a wild fucking. Somehow thinking of Yuushi during the best kind of moment he had with Ryou made him feel like he'd betrayed something. So Gakuto curled up, stayed quiet, and let Ryou clean them up as he fell into an exhausted sleep.


End file.
